Raise Joan of Arc to be an empress, then discard her.

“Yes…” Aaron also looked at Minee.

“It’s…it’s my father…” Minee said through gritted teeth, her face pale with fright. “The mercenary leader, Eris.”

He usually spoke of his father's identity with great pride, but when he mentioned his father's identity to Li Wei, he felt insecure because even his own father was no match for these people.

“So it’s the Commander. Please rise, Commander. I don’t think Her Majesty the Queen will mind.” Li Wei suddenly realized, and then reached out to help Eris up.

“Thank you, sir! I’ll kneel!” Eris said loudly and resolutely, her voice carrying for miles around.

Li Wei was not annoyed by the rejection of their kindness; he simply smiled and looked at them.

But Eris raised her head again, forcing a smile, and asked, "I only wish to know the identities of you gentlemen, so that I may know whose favor my son has received?"

"Oh? You've been following them for so long, yet you don't know their identities?" Li Wei asked with a look of great interest.

"To be honest, you gentlemen saved my son's life on the road. As for your identities, I dare not ask..." Eris said awkwardly.

“They are the Duke’s men,” Levi said calmly. “You’re lucky you were able to follow them all the way.”

As Livy descended the city gate, a man and a woman dressed in Lucerne soldier's uniforms walked up the city wall along the gate's steps.

The city walls are guarded by Lucert's most mysterious Obsidian Knights. As Christina said, Lucert only mobilizes the Knights when there are important events, and guarding the city gates during the festival is of utmost importance to ensure the safety of the envoys from both countries.

Chapter 270 Assassination

This group of Obsidian Knights was specially set up for the Queen and Empress, so the defense was extremely tight. Except for Li Wei, who could freely enter and exit the city wall, everyone who went up the city wall had to go through several rounds of checks. Although the two of them had tokens, they still went through several rounds of checks before they could walk up the city wall and see the Empress's carriage in the distance.

Even after reaching the city wall, the defenses were still extremely tight, with guards every three steps and sentries every five steps. The Obsidian Knights on the city wall controlled all the important positions, and they were also silently watching from places they couldn't see. The two Lucerne soldiers were already drenched in sweat when they reached the city wall. They walked with their heads down and entered the room in the city wall camp.

Upon entering the room, the leading male soldier pulled down the tent flap and placed an idol on the ground. Instantly, the room was filled with flickering light, and both men glowed with an eerie light. After confirming that no one was eavesdropping, the man turned around, looked at the soldier, and solemnly spoke in a language different from Lucerne's:

"For you and me to stand here, the clan chief has paid a heavy price. Father and Mother also died on the way. Remember, we are able to stand here because of the lives of our clansmen. This assassination is to avenge our clansmen and to avenge the grudge of the Lute people. Only success is allowed, failure is not an option!"

The soldier in front of him nodded, and the two of them looked at each other. Together, they tied the white silk ribbon around their heads, making a tight knot. Then, the soldier took out a fruit plate from behind him, handed it to her, and carefully hid the dagger in her sleeve.

The man's eyes reddened, and he said in a choked voice:

"Queen Lucerne has seized our cattle and sheep, occupied our land, and abducted our men to fight for them! Our homes have been torn apart because of Queen Lucerne, and our fathers and mothers have died in fratricide! We, the Lute people, have long hated that witch to the core! Now that we, the Lute people, are no more than dead, we, the remaining souls of the Lute people, will drag that witch down with us to our doom! To comfort the brave warriors of our Lute people!"

As the woman listened, tears streamed down her face. The two encouraged each other in Rutt, a language the Lucernes couldn't understand. After solemnly chanting a slogan, the man wiped away the woman's tears, repeatedly told her to be careful in everything, took the idol from the ground, and lifted the curtain.

In order to carry out this assassination, they used a precious pawn that had been lying in ambush in Lucerne for a long time, and killed a soldier in Lucerne, leaving his body in the wilderness. After this battle, no matter what, the Luter people will be completely extinct. The woman also knew that the matter was of great importance. Thinking of her father and mother who died in the war, she had no other thoughts but to face death.

Assassinate Queen Lucerne! Assassinate Queen Lucerne! Assassinate Queen Lucerne!

At that moment, she had only one simple and direct thought in her mind.

A maidservant carrying a fruit platter emerged from behind the curtain. For this assassination attempt, they had gone so far as to kill a soldier in charge of foreign affairs reception in Lusset and impersonate him. This opportunity to present the fruit platter to the Empress was her closest chance to get to Queen Lusset and her best chance to assassinate her.

The woman in white, carrying a fruit platter, approached the black carriage by the city wall with her head down. The Obsidian Knight on guard watched her coldly. The woman was covered in sweat, but the Obsidian Knight just stared at her without making a move.

The woman in white finally managed to approach the Empress's carriage. She knelt before it, held the fruit platter high above her head, and said softly, "I have brought a fruit platter for Queen Lucerne..."

Upon approaching the carriage, she realized that it was not completely sealed off. At this moment, the woman in white and Queen Lucerne were separated only by a dark blue curtain. The woman's heart pounded. It was said that Queen Lucerne was stunningly beautiful. She could not see the empress's face clearly from outside the curtain, but she could see her fair chin and slender, long fingers resting beside her face.

The Empress seemed to be in a very relaxed and comfortable position, completely unguarded, as if taking a nap. Through the dark blue curtain, the woman could not hear any sound. She was overjoyed. Could it be that the Empress had fallen into a deep sleep, and that she was only separated from the Empress by a thin curtain...?

Assassination is an extremely demanding task that tests one's mental fortitude. Whether an assassination succeeds or not depends not only on the assassin's various abilities but also on luck. At this moment, the woman in white felt that luck was on her side.

Looking at the Empress's fair chin behind the curtain, the woman in white felt a strange excitement on her face. Her figure slowly disappeared into the carriage, and she quietly took out a dagger from her sleeve...

Her face was radiant, and everything around her seemed to disappear from her sight. All she could see was the woman in the carriage whose face was only half visible. Just one more step closer... just one more step closer... and she could plunge the dagger into her enemy's heart!

Just one step away... just one step away! The woman in white had already seen the Empress's features clearly, and her left hand was already gripping the wooden hilt of the dagger!

*

Below the city gate, Li Wei and the others were chatting and laughing, but suddenly, the smile on Li Wei's face vanished, and he and Aaron looked up at the top of the city wall.

A terrifying burst of spiritual energy exploded across the city walls, instantly waking everyone on Esgard.

"Who goes there!" The guard's shrill voice was distorted by the sudden burst of spiritual energy. In the instant they realized what was happening, everyone turned to look at the black carriage. But what they saw was not a bloody assassination scene. In the instant they noticed the abnormality, everything had already happened, exceeding everyone's expectations and reaction time. The moment the killing intent was revealed, white ice shards burst through the carriage like a raging dragon, stretching outwards wildly like sunflowers twisting and growing towards the sky, violently rushing outwards for an extremely long distance.

When everything calmed down and the dust settled, they saw massive icicles, as large as mountains, appearing in the far distance. At the end of the cold honeysuckle tree, on a huge icicle resembling a branch, hung the mangled body of a woman in white. Her skin had turned completely white, and her entire body was covered in a layer of half-white frost. She was dead, but her eyes remained fixed on the direction of the carriage, their eyes wide open. Blood gushing from her chest soaked the entire branch, dripping down the icicle and staining half of the pale sky crimson.

High above the icicles, bathed in the golden glow of the setting sun, the Empress's skirts fluttered as she indifferently gazed at the corpse hanging like a fruit from the end of a honeysuckle tree. Her stunning beauty, beside the setting sun, was even more dazzling than its radiance.

Everyone in front of the city gate saw the woman on the icicles high up on the city wall.

Her long, golden hair reached her waist, and her deep green eyes held a chilling frost. Her eyebrows were like swords, her nose was high and straight, and she had a queen-like oval face. When she looked at you, her gaze seemed to be focused on you, or perhaps gathering in the empty space behind you.

She was tall, even taller than many men, with a stunning figure and exquisite curves, all of which were hidden beneath her gorgeous dress. Her delicate face seemed flawless; her beauty was impossible to ignore, yet it carried a chilling majesty. She stood high in the cold, exposed to the enormous setting sun, with the sun sinking behind her, but she was as cold as if night had already fallen.

"The...Empress!!"

The Lucerne man standing before the tent stared directly at the Empress's imposing majesty, like wild grass exposed to a raging storm. His heart pounded wildly, as if in a tempestuous storm. He was exposed to the Empress's blazing radiance, like a moth exposed to the scorching sun. This was his only chance to face the Empress directly in his life, but the first time would be the moment his life would burn out.

Are there any accomplices?

The Empress spoke in a calm tone, her slender fingers resting on the sword on the inside, slowly drawing the longsword.

"No way!!!"

The Obsidian Knight guards on the city wall reacted and shouted in terror, but it was too late. The Empress drew her sword, and her domineering and unparalleled sword energy flew down from above, while a terrifying string sound flashed across the city wall.

Blood spurted into the sky once more, and a massive head streaked across the heavens. The handsome head stared wide-eyed at the world, tracing a graceful arc in the air before finally rolling down to the city wall, its eyes wide open in death as it gazed upon the living beings below.

Miner hugged his arms in terror and collapsed to the ground. He was having trouble breathing and his face was pale. He seemed unable to bear the overwhelming majesty of the empress on the ice shard and was on the verge of collapse. Many more people prostrated themselves on the ground, equally shocked. That was Empress Lucette, who had crossed thousands of miles with her majesty and arrived on Esgard.

Only then did the guard reach the fallen Lucerne soldier. He stared breathlessly at the handsome head on the ground, beside which lay the Empress's slender longsword. Further away, a woman in white hung from a massive icicle, as large as a honeysuckle tree, from which blood dripped continuously.

The white silk ribbons on their foreheads were stained red, and their faces, besides showing resentment and regret, also carried the look of terror as if they had witnessed the end of the world.

After the man died, chaos erupted on the city walls. A black cavalry, like a torrent of steel, shouted and escorted the nobles in their retreat. The walls were in disarray. Some were covering the retreat of the honored guests, while Obsidian Knights searched everywhere for the assassin. The Empress's personal attendants also came running up the walls, panting. Footsteps and shouts filled the air. Only the Empress wore a somewhat bored expression. She casually recalled her longsword, put her hand to her mouth, and yawned softly.

Her expression was indifferent, as if killing one or two assassins with thunderous speed was as commonplace as eating and drinking for her. Until the very end, she didn't even glance at the trembling masses below the city wall. Perhaps to her, this was just a trivial warm-up exercise after getting up.

***

"I'm so sorry, I didn't expect such a thing to happen on the city wall. I apologize for disturbing you all."

Inside the city walls, in front of a hotel at the foot of Esgard, Harry, dressed in snow-white, kept apologizing to Aaron and the others.

"I had originally planned to host a banquet for you all on the city walls, but now I can only take you to the market at the foot of Asgard," Harry said apologetically.

Aaron, however, seemed unconcerned. He kept looking around curiously, and when he heard Harry's words, he simply said, "It's okay, I quite like this format. Like you said before, I feel uncomfortable sitting with important people at banquets."

"Lord Aaron is a man of strong character. Very well, an embassy has been specially set up in Asgard to welcome distinguished guests. Please follow me."

Aaron shook his head and asked, "What's the liveliest place around here?"

Harry paused, then said, "Those places are where ordinary people in Asgard go, very different from the places we set up..."

“It’s alright, I’m not interested in upscale places.” Aaron stopped, looked up at the bustling hotel in front of him, and said, “How about this place?”

Harry followed Aaron's gaze and saw a huge sign for the Drunken Fragrance Pavilion right above his head.

*

As the group entered the hotel and crossed the threshold, they realized that the bustling atmosphere of the hotel was not what they had imagined. There were indeed many people gathered in the hotel lobby, but they were not hotel guests; they were just people who had come to join in the fun. In front of these onlookers was a group of hooligans.

The ruffians, laughing and joking, blocked a corner of the hall. This place was originally the hall's viewing platform, used by storytellers to give lectures and musicians to play their instruments. Now, a thin woman was sitting there, holding a bundle in one hand and holding the hand of a blind girl in the other, like a sheep surrounded by wolves.

Her eyes were filled with fear, but she could only try her best to show no fear, using her frail body to shield the blind girl behind her.

Christina and Sarah noticed the pitiful woman huddled in the corner as soon as they entered. They stopped and frowned deeply. Even Ji Xinglu stopped and looked at her with a deep red gaze.

At this moment, a waiter approached them solicitously. He had worked in the hotel for many years and was quite perceptive. He immediately recognized that Harry and Aaron were the owners of the group. He smiled and asked, "Please go to the second floor."

"Ah."

Aaron glanced at the distant stands, then followed the waiter up the stairs to the second floor. Harry followed closely behind, a faint smile on his face, without even glancing at the crowd.

Seeing this, Aurelia and Mina frowned and glanced at the stands before following her upstairs. Sarah hesitated downstairs for a while until Harry upstairs started calling her before she reluctantly walked up the stairs. Only Bai Suxian remained downstairs, as if she hadn't noticed that the person beside her had already left, staring intently at the stands in the lobby.

"What would you like to eat, gentlemen?" the waiter asked.

Harry was meticulous in his work; he had already decided what he wanted before going upstairs.

As he spoke, Harry fumbled in his sleeve for a moment, then took out a gold coin and placed it on the table, leaving the waiter speechless. Even Sarah and Minay were taken aback. It wasn't that they hadn't seen gold coins before, but they hadn't expected Harry to throw out a gold coin so generously.

"I thought you were going to take out some kind of token."

Chapter 271 Seeing Injustice

As the waiter brought the wine, Aaron spoke while holding his glass.

The wine was served first, and the dishes followed suit. The waiters brought out beef, whole chickens and ducks, and a table full of meat was placed on the table, looking quite impressive.

After the attentive waiter poured them their drinks, he sat respectfully at the table next to them, like their personal servant, keeping a watchful eye on everything and ready to serve them at any time.

Zui Xiang Lou was a second-rate hotel. Although some people attending the celebration were seated on the second floor, they were also considered second-rate among the guests. This kind of hotel was fundamentally different from the embassy that Harry wanted to take them to. If it were an embassy hosting a banquet in Lucretia, they would be served by charming and docile young women dressed in figure-hugging clothes, attending to Aaron closely. After the banquet, if a guest wanted to take them away, it would only take a word for it.

"Let me tell you, I wanted to see what Queen Lusette looked like before I came here, and seeing her at the city gate today, I can confirm that she lives up to her reputation."

Although he was nearly scared to death at the city gate today, when talking about what happened on the city wall that evening, Miyako was still beaming with excitement, chewing on some fragrant beef as he spoke:

"She conquered almost all of Lusset before she was even twenty-five, becoming the most revered empress in the world! There is no other woman like her in the world! Did you see it today? The empress's figure after she took off her cloak! Her breasts! Her legs! Her waist! There is simply no other woman in the world with that kind of grace!"

After admiring the Empress's beauty with shining eyes, Mina seemed to recall the Empress's imposing presence on the city walls earlier that day. She patted her chest, still somewhat shaken, and said, "But it's best to admire women like that from afar... those kinds of women aren't the type to settle down. Gentle, demure women are much better..."

Minay's thoughts reflect the common attitude of many men towards the Empress: they are both captivated by her charm and aroused by their desire to conquer her, and intimidated by her formidable reputation.

Even if a man offered himself to a woman like that, he wouldn't be able to enjoy her, and his imagination would be very limited. Although Minai admired her, he would never have any thoughts about her.

Compared to the Queen, Aaron admired Minee more. He had thought Minee was just a talkative person, but after learning his identity, she was still so talkative in front of Harry. Even Harry found it quite interesting, drinking his wine and listening to Minee with a smile. He didn't blame Minee for taking the lead at all, but instead seemed quite interested.

Minee wasn't the kind of spoiled brat who was pampered at home. He still remembered the wonderful expressions on his parents' faces when Harry said he could take him to the banquet. Before Aaron took him away, his parents subtly indicated that he was not suitable to attend such a banquet, implying that he was not worthy.

Stunned, Minay was overcome with youthful exuberance. He abruptly shook his head and accepted Harry's invitation. Looking back now, it was not only a thoughtless act, but also probably one of the few times in his life when he could finally hold his head high. Even now, recalling the stunned expressions on his parents' faces, Minay still feels a sense of satisfaction.

"Awesome! That's so awesome!"

Harry put down his glass: "Actually, compared to Her Majesty the Queen, the women Aaron and his brother brought were quite nice too. But didn't they come with us?"

"She was sick, so I was substituted at the last minute," Aaron said casually.

Mina then suddenly remembered Aaron's identity.

Mina was sweating profusely. Although the atmosphere at the table was harmonious, both of them seemed to be preoccupied with their own thoughts. Mina vaguely understood that it was impossible for people who were on high pedestals to open up to each other. However, it was also inappropriate for everyone to remain silent at the table. So Mina remembered his three tricks for chatting.

"By the way, what unique skills does your Omniscient Church possess that you could teach me even a move or two?"

Mina regretted asking the question as soon as it left her mouth. Mina! Mina! Don't you ever think before you speak?! It's one thing normally, but not in such an important situation?